Forwarded from: Mark Bernard <mbernard@private> Dear Associates, A rather sigificant lack of information security practices and procedures has created a rather large problem where 1/3 of Canadians haven't been paid! http://www.canadaeast.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20040604/TTEBRIEF/306040085/-1/FRONTPAGE June 4, 2004 Times & Transcript Staff Computer problems plaguing the Royal Bank of Canada has caused payroll paralysis across the country, affecting more than 10 million people nationwide with the end for some unpaid clients not expected until the weekend. More than 10,000 provincial government employees, including Premier Bernard Lord, were not paid yesterday leaving $11.4 million in the government's bank account until the massive computer failure is fixed. The payroll problem didn't end with the government; more than 3,000 NB Power employees were impacted as well as 125 City of Moncton workers who were left without a pay cheque. Finance Minister Jeannot Volpé said the province is helpless in the matter. "It is not something that we can fix ourselves," Volpé said. "It is very unfortunate for all the employees that were impacted but there is nothing that we can do about it." By the end of business hours yesterday, Volpé said employees who use the Royal Bank, Bank of Montreal, CIBC and Toronto Dominion-Canada Trust should be paid but those using the Scotiabank, credit unions and other financial institutions would have to wait until today. The finance minister also noted that some of the province's direct deposit payments to vendors and to people receiving family support orders have been affected. Government workers were not complaining about the computer problems yesterday as they were leaving for their lunch break. "Honestly it doesn't really affect my life today, no," said Micheline LeBlanc. "It is something that happens and we are used to computer glitches in the computer system." Jim Knight, a government worker, said he knows he's going to get paid eventually and he feels worse for the bank's computer technicians. "We've all been there and I hope it turns out well for them," Knight said. The Royal Bank issued a statement late yesterday indicating all transactions made as of Tuesday have been updated and all money movement made as of Wednesday is expected to be reflected in client balances today. But transactions made yesterday are not anticipated to be processed until the weekend. In situations where customers had been expecting to be paid and have necessary purchases, such as groceries, scheduled for the weekend, the Royal Bank is recommending they visit their local branch immediately. "The branch will work with them and see if they can accommodate the client," said Lori Smith, a Halifax-based spokeswoman for the bank. Bank branches were kept open later yesterday and Smith said, if there is a need in various communities today, business hours will be extended again. As for individuals who have automatic withdrawals scheduled with other financial institutions, Smith said customers should not worry about late fees, overdraft charges or damaged credit ratings. "All of the other financial institutions know and understand what is happening and we've asked for their co-operation in getting through this time," she said. The bank has said the processing disruption was created during a routine programming update to one of the institution's computer systems. Despite the problems, bank officials are underscoring to their clients that their money is safe and secure. The banking problems caught many employers off guard yesterday. A City of Moncton spokeswoman could not estimate how much money was not transferred to employees but confirmed the city's finance department is keeping in touch with the Royal Bank to overcome the problems. The province's power corporation has been particularly impacted by the computer problems as nearly $5 million has not been handed out to employees. "While in the past we've had problems with individual banks, we've been able to rectify them on the same day," said Jeffrey Carleton, a NB Power spokesman. "This is the first time in well over two decades that we've ever had such a widespread problem in paying employees on the day that they are supposed to be paid." NB Power's problems don't stop with the payroll department; large wire transfers to vendors, which can range from $15,000 to well over $1 million, were delayed in recent days. The NB Power spokesman said, as of late yesterday, all the wire transfers to vendors, such as fuel suppliers or financial institutions, had been carried out and the banking backlog did not impact smaller vendors. The power company has also been forced to make changes to its direct deposit system for customers. Carleton said NB Power will not withdraw funds from accounts that cannot pay because of the computer glitch and will catch back up in the next several days. Stephane Robichaud, the director of provincial affairs for the Canadian Federation of Independent Business, said he hasn't yet received any complaints from the small businesses he represents in New Brunswick. Mark E. S. Bernard, CISM, PM, PA, e-mail: mbernard@private Phone: (506) 375-6368 Leadership Quotes: "People cannot be managed. Inventories can be managed, but people must be led," H. Ross Perot _________________________________________ ISN mailing list Sponsored by: OSVDB.org
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